May 3rd, 2007: Calendar for rest of year for grade 8 LA class
To: Grade 8
From: Mr. Pastore
Re: Calendar for the fourth quarter in Language Arts
Date: Tuesday, April 24th, 2006

Dear Grade 8 students,
The end of the year is almost here... and while there is a lot to do, inevitably there comes a time when we have to put some of our grade 8 energy towards details other than regular classwork. Complicating things is that we are both hosting and being hosted by the grade 8 students at the Masterman School in Philadelphia. This school exchange event has an undeniable impact on how we need to approach the rest of the school year, and when we throw in the 3rd Arts BLock Show, the after School drama show, graduation, ITBS, etc., you see that we still have many things to do.
I will use Language Arts class to help us organize as an 8th grade group.
Some of your time will also be given to touching up your Blog, and hopefully, adding something to it.
We will also do one final project together, which is explained below. You will be graded for the project according to a Rubric, which we will design together in class Friday.

1. Thursday, April 26: Receive Special project: Presentation on " Some things I want the WORLD to know about me!" Due Date: Friday, May 11th. PRESENTATIONS to the visitors on Monday, May 14th in the morning. Presentation must use technology, but also incorporate a prepared speech that is memorized, and that accompanies the presentation.
2. Friday, April 27: PROJECT:
(Monday and Tuesday April 31st, May 1st are a Holiday)
3. Wednesday, May 2nd: PROJECT: planning and work in lab (may finish work for Blog from 3rd quarter too). Must have a written plan that includes: how many powerpoint cells; ideas of titles for each cell; special effects written in the margin for each cell; ideas for sound effects and music for the presentation.
4. Thursday, May 3rd: PROJECT: write rough draft of script for presentation;
5. Friday, May 4th: PROJECT: continue planning; work in lab- scan in fotos, art, etc.;

6. Monday, May 7th: PROJECT: keep working!!!
7. Wednesday, May 9th: PROJECT: keep working!!!
8. Thursday, May 10th: PROJECT: keep working!!! Proofread it all...
9. Friday, May 11th: PROJECT: Practice in lab with a partner...

ARRIVAL OF MASTERMAN STUDENTS ON SUNDAY, MAY 13TH

10. Monday, May 14th: special split schedule w/Masterman guests PRESENT LA projects!!!
TUESDAY FIELD TRIP TO TRIESTE WITH VISITORS
11. Wednesday, May 16th: Finish Blog- is there anything you need to add???
12. Thursday, May 17th: Review Rubric from presentation, and "self grade" it.
13. Friday, May 18th: FIELD TRIP TO SLOVENIA WITH MASTERMAN

MONDAY, May 22nd: SPECIAL ACTIVITY WITH MASTERMAN all day...
14. Wednesday, May 23rd: Touch up your presentation to be posted on your BLOG
15. Thursday, May 24th: PHILADELPHIA TRIP LEAVES- special "split" LA plan...
16. Friday, May 25th: PHILADELPHIA TRIP

17. Monday, May 28th: PHILADELPHIA TRIP
18. Wednesday, May 30th: PHILADELPHIA TRIP
19. Thursday, May 31st: PHILADELPHIA TRIP
20. Friday, June 1st: PHILADELPHIA TRIP

21. Monday, June 4th: PHILADELPHIA TRIP
(Tuesday, June 5th, Philadelphia trip returns)
22. Wednesday, June 6th: Finish posting your project on your Blog. Touch up the project.
23rd. Thursday, June 7th: ITBS grades 3-8: 8:45-10:30; recuperate a subject in LA time
24th. Friday, June 8th: ITBS grades 3-8 8:45-10:30; recuperate a subject in LA time

25. Monday, June 11th: ITBS grades 3-8, 8:45-10:30; recuperate a subject in LA time
26. Wednesday, June 13th: ARTS BLOCK SHOW REHEARSAL
27. Thursday, June 14th: ARTS BLOCK SHOW
28. Friday, June 15th: Write 50 word graduation speeches in Italian and English.

29. Monday, June 18th: (Note: Possibly this is the day IST/UIS students do their Italian verifications with the teachers from Opicina) (note: UIS has graduation the 19th)
30. Wednesday, June 20th: Practice for Grade 8 graduation

Notes on How to "Write an Editorial Opinion", Monday, April 16th
Class,
I went online and "googled" the phrase "writing an editorial". What came up was a website (listed at the end of this entry) that explains briefly what an Editorial is, and how to write one.
This should help you work on Blog entry #6, the last one of the 3rd quarter.

What is an Editorial:
An editorial is one of the writing styles used to express an opinion or reaction to timely news, event or an issue of concern. Most editorials are used to influence readers to think or act the same way the writer does. Not all editorials take sides on an issue but have one of the following four purposes:

1. Inform: The writer gives careful explanations about a complicated issue.
2. Promote: Writer tries to promote a worthy activity. Get the reader involved.
3. Praise: The writer praises a person or an event.
4. Entertain: The writer encourages or entertains the reader about an important issue.

Steps to writing your editorial:
1. Selecting: Choose an issue ~ Your editorial could be about how the readers could help the environment, inform the public about a particular endangered species, praise an effort by a group who has helped to take an endangered animal off of the endangered species list, or any other idea that can be used as an editorial...first check with your teacher to make sure it is an acceptable article.
2. Collecting: Gathering Support ~ Gather as many details to convince others about your opinion. (Facts or evidence, written statements from sources or authorities in the subject (experts), comparisons to similar situations to support your argument, pictures or images that strengthen your argument, be able to counter argue your opponents on this issue.)
3. Connecting: Write the first draft ~ Body should have clear and accurate details and examples. Give strong arguments in beginning of editorial and at the end. Show the opposing arguments and their weaknesses. Offer a solution at the end. Do not be wishy washy. Stick to your argument or opinion.
4. Correcting: Getting it right ~ Your editorial should be clear and forceful. Avoid attacking others, do not preach, paragraphs should be brief and direct. Give examples and illustrations. Be honest and accurate. Don't be too dramatic.

Note: The above information is from the website: http://projects.edtech.sandi.net/pbmiddle/environment/editor.htm

Work Due on Friday, April 20th- last day of 3rd quarter!
On Friday you should be able to show me the following:
1. 6 hand written rough copies of your 6 blog entries
2. 6 blog entries

You should also be able to prove to me that you finished reading The Chocolate War. How? You will find out Friday... (hint, be ready to write a "live" blog entry on Friday about the one of the "themes" in the novel that we talked about in class before Easter Break.

Last week of 3rd Quarter: 6 Blogs and work due by Friday the 20th!
5 people in class Monday were ready to work on their last blog entry for the 3rd quarter, their "editorial" (refer back to my entry on Tuesday, Feb. 20th to read about the 6th entry) commentary. I did tell you two weeks ago that you could write a "commentary" on The Chocolate War novel, so if you started it already, then you may do so. However, if you have not started, then please write an editorial commentary.
Go to www.newyorktimes.com or www.corriere.it and read what is written online in the "opinion" sections. Then, pick a topic on which to write your opinion. That is it. Simple. Pick what you want, bht pick a topic on which you can write a serious, logical opinion. If you need help.... ask your PARENTS about what you can write about. They can discuss this with you...but first go to the two websites I recommended above and read some editorials.

Work Due Friday, March 30th
According to our original work schedule for this quarter, there are two Blog entries that you do not have to have done by this Friday, Book Synopsis 10 and the Editorial Commentary entry. All the other entries should be done for this Friday, March 30th, and include:
1. Historical Entry on Trieste
2. Geographical Entry on Trieste
3. Personal Interest Entry on Trieste
4. Book Synopsis number 9- 250 words this time
The other two items to be finished are:
5. Book Synopsis 10: must be either a BIOGRAPHY or a work of Historical Fiction. Proofed rough draft and final post due by Tuesday, April 3rd. Length is to be 250-300 words.
6. Editorial Commentary: Teacher approved. 500 word maximum. We will review how to do this in class on Thursday, and will base our work on making a "commentary" on The Chocolate War.

I noticed in class Monday that many of you have not finished your three entries on Trieste. Please have them done for Friday. Almost everyone has posted Book Synopsis number 9, however. It would be great to be able to focus as a group on the Editorial Commentary writing all together as a class.
We have a little less than three total weeks left in the third quarter, with the last week divided from the rest of the 3rd quarter by the Easter Holiday break.

Wednesday, March 14th: Staying on Task today...
Remember to stay on task today!
We need to have the first three blog entries (see Monday's entry) done and on the Blog today. I want us to move ahead Friday. Of course, there is always someone who needs a bit more time... but we all have to move ahead.

Tomorrow we will work on The Chocolate War, and on Friday, back in the lab, those who have not chosen their book for "book synopsis #10" will do so. Remember the instructions from Feb. 20th: the book for #10 MUST be either a biography OR a historical novel: and it must be approved by "moi", herr pastore. (Note: whichever you chose for #10, you will have to do the opposite next book...).

Reading our Class Novel: The Chocolate War
Please continue reading The Chocolate War , as we will begin to discuss it in class on Thursday. If you have finished reading the novel, here is a website where you can go to get more background on the author and the themes of the story at a special The Chocolate War website.
(note: you can also make LINKS on any of your blog entries quite easily...ask if you want to know how).
I am trusting you to read the novel so you can participate in our class discussions, and eventually write a blog entry on the novel at the end of the quarter.
However, I am giving you the website, which has chapter summaries and character analysis, in order to help you read what is at times a difficult book.
Thanks for doing the best you can with this novel!

Monday, March 12th: Keeping up to date!
It is imperative that everyone be finished their first three blog entries of this quarter by the end of class on Wednesday. The three entries are:
-Historical entry on Trieste
-Geographical entry on Trieste
-Book Synopsis #9
The rules for each one of these posts are on my February 20th entry- go back and read that entry (or the handout I gave you that day also!) if you are not 100% sure what to do for these three entries.

Summing up Class: Friday, March 9th
Today in class everyone was productive most of the period. Several of you were reading on the couches, several were writing handwritten rough copies, several were researching for their historical and geographical blog entries on Trieste, and several were writing final blog entries (one of us was cleaning his locker to find a notebook, but that counts as being productive too!).

I would like to remind the class that our new "posting" procedure for our Language Arts blogs is to write our first final copy on the word processor on the computer, and then cut and paste it into Blogger. we have discovered that trying to type directly into the Blogger site during some of our class periods is inefficient due to the longer up/download times between our IST server and the host servers in the USA for Blogger.com. This new procedure should help us all out and be more productive.
Remember what Stefano, the tech consultant, told us today when we started class: that there is nothing we can do because of the speed "bottleneck" between Italy and the Blogger.com host servers in the USA. But he also said that if we write, save, then cut and paste into Blogger, we will be able to do our work with a minimum of frustration.
This should save us all time as we move forward in this quarter. Thanks!

Tuesday, February 20th, 2007
Dear grade 8,

I want to thank you in advance for your cooperation over the next four LA 8 lessons while I am awasy on my trip to the USA.
Wednesday, 8th period Mr. Rossol will be with you in the lab;
Thursday, 7th period Mr. Preston will be with you in B2. Bring a novel to read, or work on rough copies for the work below as stated in the 3rd quarter outline.
Friday: 8th period you will be in the lab with Mr. Schvaneveldt.
Monday: 6th period you will be in the lab with Ms. Rodriguez. Five of you will need to work on rough copies, and the others on your BLOGS.

In the USA I will be working on connections for the Middle and High School programs, particularly in creating new courses in High School and in making technology connections for Middle/High School. I will also be trying to set up some future connections (online and perhaps exchanges) with schools in the USA on the West Coast. I will tell you when I get back. I will also be "showing off" your BLOGS at a few workshops and to some technology specialists, hoping to get some help from them in how to further develop our Language Arts Class for the rest of this year.
Below is the same information as that given to you Tuesday- the 3rd quarter course outline.
See you all on Tuesday the 27th!


To: Grade 8 LA 8 Class
From: Mr. Pastore
RE: 3rd Quarter outline
Date: TUESDAY, Feb. 20th, 2007

3rd quarter LA 8 OUTLINE
week 1: Feb. 5-9- time to wrap up 2nd quarter, fix BLOG by posting a quarter self grade, and also send said analysis to Mr Pastore by email
' 2: Feb 19-23: Many of you STILL need to send me an email about your 2nd quarter grade (see BLOG for instructions) and also post that email information on your BLOG site! You also have to go in and do the security “update” we talked about in class on Monday the 20th
' 3: Feb 26-2 see below
' 4: Mar 5-9 see below
' 5: Mar 12-16 see below
' 6: Mar 19-23 see below
' 7: Mar 26-30 see below
' 8: Apr 2-5 (four day week) see below
' 9: Apr 16-20 see below

Work this quarter:
I. 6 Blog entries:
1. Novel Synopsis 9: Student choice, but teacher approved. Proofed rough draft and final post due by Tuesday, March 6th. LENGTH is to be 250-300 words.
2. Book Synopsis 10: must be either a BIOGRAPHY or a work of Historical Fiction. Proofed rough draft and final post due by Tuesday, April 3rd. Length is to be 250-300 words.
3. Historical Entry on Trieste: Pick, with teacher approval, a topic about Trieste that will interest our exchange school. Due by Friday, March 2. (NOTE: this was given to you already... I want SPECIFICS, not a general history. For example- one church, one castle, one famous person, one famous event, etc.....)
4. Geographical Entry on Trieste: ditto...Due by Tuesday, March 13th. (NOTE: pick a SPECIFIC item of Geographical interest. Do not cut and paste from the internet! Use your own words to write about something that interests you- Bora; Carso; Caves; Bay of Trieste; being on the Adriatic; etc...). 200 words.
5. Personal Aspect Entry on Trieste: ditto...Due by Tuesday, March 20th. Something you like about Trieste and WHY. 200 words.
6. Editorial Commentary: Teacher approved. 500 word maximum. RC1 due Thursday, March 22nd; RC 2 due Monday, March 26th. FC Due Tuesday, March 27th. We will pick this later...

II. The last week of the 3rd quarter will be left for catching up, and making sure you have continued to make blog comments as done in the 2nd quarter (for each of the 6 Blog topics this quarter, you must comment on four classmates writings, for a total of 24 comments.).

III. Reading and Writing Editorials:
We will read editorials together on assigned websites. An "editorial" is a personal commentary about a topic. Editorials generally cover a wide variety of topics, and writers many times specialize in a particular topic. Many famous editorialists are "political commentators". Others editorialize about economics, sports, modern life, etc. At times famous people (politicians, actors, businesspeople, etc) write editorials about particular topics that interest them.
On several Thursday we will read some editorials together on the projector in our classroom. You will write TWO handwritten rough drafts, each of which will be checked by me to see that you have corrected errors, made adjustments and proofed grammar, spelling and punctuation. You must also have TWO other people who are fluent in English look over your editorial- a fellow student, a teacher, a parent or friend of the family, etc.
I will investigate asking a journalist to come to our class to speak to you about how an editorialist does their job.

Thursday, February 8th, 2007 (from Cambridge, Mass., USA)

Dear Grade 8 students,

The first semester ended very well in both Language Arts and Physical Education. I am scheduling a follow up meeting with each one of you to write in your grades for Language Arts and PE on your report cards together. I also want to follow up the meeting we each had together after the first quarter to review our "note" to see what progress you have made so far, and to discuss how to make even more progress in the second semester.
Therefore- your report cared will NOT have grades on it for the 2nd quarter and First Semester for our two classes: Language Arts and Physical Education. I do have the PE grades, but I want to discuss those with you face to face at the same time we review the Language Arts grade. You will get your grades on February 19/20th.
I do depend on and trust you to translate this note for your parents. You are old enough to do this without school supervision, and they should already be used to this from the end of the first quarter.
I have looked at your Blogs, and I must say that we are doing a very good job overall. I do think that as a group we need to use the laboratory better when we are there, and to help us do so, I have asked Mr. Pozar and Mr. Rossol to make sure that the internet connection for IST is as fast as we can make it. We need this to help us when we start our class "Wiki" with the Masterman School in Philadelphia. We will use the Wiki in the second semester to teach the Philadelphia kids about our school and about Trieste and Italy.
Have a great Ski Week vacation, and make sure to take a good book with you to read for fun while you are not at school. I will see you on Monday the 19th.
Sincerely,
Mr. Pastore

Thursday and Friday, February 8-9, 2007

Dear Language Arts Class,

You are to write on your blog a 200 to 300 "commentary" on some aspect of life in Italy/Trieste. You are to write the ROUGH DRAFT in class on Thursday, proofread it, and input it onto your Blogger site Friday in class. This is to be done, and UNPUBLISHED (ie. saved only as a "Draft") for me to look at on Monday, February 19th, when we next have class.
Thank you for your cooperation.

Wednesday, February 7, 2007

Dear Language Arts Class,
Please send me an email at the following address: jimperuzzo@yahoo.com

Your email should include the following information:
1. A verification that you did all 6 BLOG entries ("I did all 6 entries")
2. A verification that you did all 6 ROUGH COPIES for the 6 blog entries (("I did all 6 rough drafts")
3. Give yourself a grade in which you justify the grade (from an "F" to an "A"). You must justify the grade with proof that you:
a. Did your work on time
b. Did your work completely
c. Used good grammar
d. Did proper proofreading (spelling, punctuation, etc.).
e. Did the best you could to make the 24 total comments that you needed to make (4 comments on each of the 6 blog entries).
f. That you used your time wisely in class over the last month.
g. That you followed the rules for each blog entry (titles, blog length)

You are to ALSO put this email content ONTO your blog as the FIRST entry of the 3rd quarter.
So- write the blog entry following the rules above, and then cut and paste what you write into an email and send it to me. I expect to BOTH read your blog with the update AND receive and read the email (with the same information in it) Wednesday when I arrive at my hotel in Boston.
This is a double control system- I should be able to see what you have written either by email or by looking on the class blog and clicking on your name and seeing the Wed. Feb. 7th entry.
THANK YOU FOR COOPERATING, and I will see you on the 19th.

Thursday, January 11th, 2007:
Work due by Friday, February 2nd

The 6 items below must be done and published on your blog by the time we start class on Friday, February 2nd. That day is the last day of the second quarter. The 6 items are as follows:
1. novel 7 synopsis
2. novel 8 synopsis
3. Social studies entry*
4. Science entry*
5. Italian entry*
6. Shakespeare role (arts block) entry
* = Same rules as for the English entry on two characters from "Romeo and Juliet" done before the holiday break.

- all 6 items above need a RC written by hand. All RC's must be shown to me on the 2nd together.
-all 6 need to have a PERFECT FC (final copy) when you publish. This means:
-grammar (sentences make sense)
-spelling is checked by computer and by "eye" (watch out for homynyms!)
-you follow the rules (title, word count, etc.)
-you must be able to prove that you made comments on others blog entries, following our already established procedures. You are responsible also for making sure that the right four people leave comments on each one of your entries.

Every day when we are in the lab you are to work on the 6 items above, for the rest of this quarter.

Next (3rd) Quarter:
If we are all ready on February 2nd to do more advanced work, we will add in two other technology/online aspects to our Language Arts Course:
1. We will create a special island on the website "SECOND LIFE" and each student will create an "avatar" to represent themselves. I still need to research this a bit more.
2. We will do a WIKI project with Masterman school in Philadelphia. This will involve teaching each other about our school, our city, and ourselves...

I still need to email them to them to find out if we can do this, but the idea is to communicate with each other before the exchange in May/June. My goal is to have each of you show off your Blog, your "avatar" and your collaborative WIKI.

Wednesday, Dec. 13th Lesson Plan:
FIRST, there are several things to catch up on as a class:
1. There are 4 students who still do not have their Romeo and Juliet FC (final copy) posted on their blog: Michele, Micaela, Sophia T. and Magenta. This must be done and ready to be checked by me Thursday the 14th.
2. Only 5 people had the Novel 6 Rough Draft done on paper on Monday: Alessandra, Manfredi, Francesca, Matteo and Magenta. The other 14 students MUST have this to show me on Thursday the 14th (tomorrow) when we have class in B2.
3. There are 8 students who still have to leave a comment on my Dec. 4th blog entry: Stefania, Claudia, Michele, Patrizio, Giulio, Pietro, Elena, France. (I deleted 2 comments this morning, as they had errors in them!). This must be done TODAY in class. I will check this tonight.
4. Magenta- see me tomorrow about the Spanish Blog you have. Remind me to talk about the rules for linking blogs (and writing other blogs) in class in B2 tomorrow.

Today you are going to practice the posting of a comment on 4 other student sites. Link in from Mr. P's site, which is on the desktop of all the computers in the lab. You are to go in ALPHABETICAL order, and leave a 20-30 word posted comment on the next four student's entries for their "Romeo and Juliet" character analysis. You are to go to the four student's sites, READ carefully their commentary, and leave your comment. The comment must be an academic comment- you must state the good things done in the blog entry that you just read, and you must proofread your comment carefully.
You will be graded by the student owner of the blog where you left your comment for grammar, spelling and completeness- and to see if you followed the directions (20-30 total words).

For example, Sofia A. will post a comment on the sites of Stefania A., Alessandra B., Claudia C., and Michele C. The four students (Stefi, Ale, Claudia and Mike) will check Sofia A.'s comment for:
-Grammar- complete sentences, capitalization, etc.
-"rules" (20-30 words)
-spelling
-only "positive" AND academic comment content

I expect to find all the above work done when I log into my site this evening at home, and read your blogs from the links on my site.

Have a good lesson, and see you Thursday.

PS: Oh yeah, I almost forgot...if you do not get the work above done... you will get a progress (actually, LACK of "progress") report Friday. Not a threat...a promise!

Monday, December 4th, 2006
Today I will continue to look at the same work as Friday (R+J RC's; Novel 6 choice; bookmarking everyone's blog on the class blog; etc.).
You will all be in putting into your blogs the R+J blog entry today.

Addition: I also want everyone to have the "comment" area open for posting of comments on the "Romeo and Juliet" character analysis. Therefore, several students in the class (Stefano, Michele, etc) will help the others go into their "template" area and show you all how to activate the comments area.
I will also start leaving comments too!

Homework for Monday, Dec. 11th:
1. Finish Novel 6.
2. Write a "synopsis" RC of the Novel 6 on paper. It must be 150 (140-160) words, and be done for class on Monday.
3. Be ready to post comments on 4-5 other peoples R+J Blog entries. I will assign you the persons to comment. You will go to the class site first and then click on the link for the other students from there.

Lesson Plan: Friday, December 1st, 2006

Today we have to do the following:
1. Mr. Pastore will check each student's RC of the "R+J" Character analysis.
2. Mr. Pastore and each student will bookmark each student's site on this site.
3. Mr. Pastore will check that each student has a ""novel 6" to start this quarter. This novel should be finished by Monday, December 11th.
4. All students should have given their signed "Focus area" note to Mr. S. After he has them all, I will check the signatures, and give them back to you to take home to attach to your quarter 1 report card.

Today you will also read Novel 6, and have time to go to the library to get another book if you need one.

Next week we only have LA8 one time, since Wednesday the Arts Block show rehearsal is after lunch, and Thursday the Arts Block show takes the whole afternoon, and Friday is a national holiday, so there is no school.

Lesson Plan: Monday, Nov. 27th, 2006

Thank you for cooperating today. As you work in class, I will be finishing my "one on one" meetings with grade 8 students to review the first quarter and to give you your report cards.
In class today you will do the following things:

1. Read your "Romeo and Juliet" rough copy: You will read one more time your "Romeo and Juliet" charafcter analysis and proof it one last time. Check grammar and spelling carefully, as your grading rubric for entries this quarter will focus much more on proofreading, especially spelling, punctuation, grammar and "readability."

2. Type in your "Romeo and Juliet" entry: Open your blog site and enter your "Romeo and Juliet" character analysis.

3. SAVE, PROOF and CHECK: Be sure to save as a draft your entry, to spellcheck and grammar/punctuation check, and finally read through to check for readability.

4. VIEW BLOG: do this to make sure that you did the entry correctly.

5. Continue to read your next novel. (novel 6 this year for LA 8).

November 22nd Lesson Plan: Grading your Quarter 1 BLOG
Today you are being given a "Grading Rubric" for your 1st quarter Blog. Your effort to grade your own blog will count as part of your 1st quarter grade. I will add what you do today in your grading rubric to your 1st quarter grade this evening. I will also use the SAME RUBRIC that you use today to give you your grade. It will be interesting to see if you are completely honest in using the RUBRIC when you self-analyze your BLOG. I will put your finished rubric next to mine this eveing to see how similar (and possibly different)your analysis is of your blog compared to my analysis- even though we will use the same rubric!

Please read the grading rubric carefully. There are a few students in our class who have not used a rubric with me previously in 6th grade, two years ago in Literature class. However, I know you can all use the rubric correctly because you are a smart group of students.

USING THE RUBRIC:
You will notice that there are multiple categories for your rubric- 5 in total. SInce there are 4 points for each category, this means you may score a total from 5 to 20 points. I do not expect anyone to get either a 20 or a 5, but I do expect for you, if you are rigorously objective in your self-assessment, to have some rubric score between a 6 and a 19.

As you work I will move around the room and help you if you need it. RAISE YOUR HAND for help!

Thank you for your cooperation. Tomorrow (Thursday) you will start a Blog entry hand written ROUGH DRAFT about "Romeo and Juliet" as your first Blog entry for the second quarter. You will write a 150 to 200 word analysis on paper first of the relationship between either Romeo OR Juliet and one of the secondary characters. The draft does not have to include specific proofs, as you will add specific proofs during class Thursday in B2. Therefore, be sure to bring your notebook, the ROUGH DRAFT and your copy of "Romeo and Juliet" with you to class Thursday.
On Monday next week the corrected version of the written draft is due, completely checked and proofed on paper with specific proofs from the play. In class Monday (November 27th) you will also show me book six, and then type the BLOG entry into your BLOG in the lab during class.
Thursday (tomorrow) you will have a substitute as I will be in Udine.
Don't forget to bring your:
-Copy of "Romeo and Juliet"
-notebook for writing your ROUGH DRAFT
-Book 6 (or get it in class. Ask the sub if you can go to the library if you do not already have the book)

Lesson Plan for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, October 11-13 2006

Dear Grade 8,
Please stay focused and concentrate on your work. You have to get a lot done over the next three days.

Wednesday, Oct. 11:
1. Finish posting the synopsis of book #1 for this quarter. It must be 150 words (ie. 140-160), be in complete sentences, and cover the 6W's (help each other remember them!). I expect to see the rough copy in your notebook from two weeks ago!

2. If finished 1 above, do the synopsis of book #2 for this quarter. You should have already written the 150ish word rough draft in your notebook. If, and only if you are finished the rough draft written in your notebook, you may type it in as a separate blog entry.

3. Make sure that Mr. Rossol has your blog info. on a piece of paper (thanks Mr. Rossol!). This means the BLOG web address, and the username and password.

4. Re-read the vocabulary and other items from last week's Wednesday blog to check if you knew everything on the quiz yesterday.

5. Write down your homework AND the lesson plan (below) for Thursday and Friday...)
HOMEWORK: Have book THREE ready for class tomorrow. If you need to go to the library, that is why you get recess and lunch on Thursday!!!! (stop whining!). Remember that class is in B2 on Thursdays...


Thursday, October 12th.
1. Read novel #3.
2. If finished, write the synopsis.
3. If finished, double check it.
4. If finished, triple check it.
5. If finished, quadruple check it.

Friday, October 13th.
Report to the library last period. Ms. Waldorf is expecting you. You are to:
1. Continue reading novel #3.
2. If done reading novel #3, write the synopsis.
3. If done 1 and 2 above...get novel #4.

I expect nothing less than perfect behavior. Ms. Waldorf will email me if there is any reason to do so, and imagine your parents surprise if they get a phone call from me in the USA because you did not behave yourselves in the library....I wouldn't want to be you of that happens (thanks for keeping me informed, Ms. Waldorf!).

LA8 Lesson Plan: Wed. Oct. 4th, 2006
1. Go to Grammar Site and do numbers 6,7,8,9,10 in the “Advanced Grammar” section. You did sections 1 through 5 last week. Keep records of what you have done in your notebook.
2. Write in your notebook the “words of the day” and their definitions.
WORDS FOR TODAY ARE:
a. Rural : adjective.
1. in the country; belonging to the country; like that of the country.
Ex. Rural life is quiet. As cities grow, they spread farther and farther into what were once rural areas.
2. of or having to do with agriculture.
Ex. rural economy.
adv. rurally.

b. Portray : transitive verb.
1. to make a likeness of in a drawing or painting; make a picture of.
Ex. to portray a historical scene.
2. (Figurative.) to picture in words; describe.
Ex. The book "Black Beauty" portrays the life of a horse.
(Synonym) depict.
3. (Figurative.) to represent in a play or motion picture; impersonate; act.
ALSO...portrayal: noun.
1. a portraying by drawing or in words.
2. a picture or description.
3. the acting of a role in a play.

c. Dignify : transitive verb, -fied, -fying.
1. to give dignity to; make noble, worthwhile, or worthy.
Ex. The low farmhouse was dignified by the great elms around it.
2. to give a high-sounding name or title to.
Ex. The boys dignified their old sailboat with the title of Ocean Queen.

d. Descend : intransitive verb.
1. to go or come down from a higher place to a lower place.
Ex. The river descends from the mountains to the sea. He descended in a parachute. (Figurative.) The shades of evening began to descend (William Forbes).
(Synonym) fall, sink.
2. to go or come down from an earlier to a later time.
Ex. a superstition descended from the Middle Ages.
3. to go from greater to fewer numbers; go from higher to lower on any scale.
Ex. The numbers 75-50-25 form a series that descends.
4. to slope downward.
Ex. The path descended from the cliff to the beach.
5a. to make a sudden attack.
Ex. The wolves descended on the sheep and killed them.
b. (Figurative:)
Ex. Hordes of relatives began to descend on the rich man.
6. to be handed down from parent to child; pass by inheritance.
Ex. This land has been in our family for 150 years, descending from father to son.
7. to come down or spring from; have as ancestors.
Ex. He is descended from pioneers.
8. (Figurative.) to lower oneself; stoop.
Ex. In order to eat she descended to stealing.
9. to proceed from general things to particular things in speaking or writing.
10. (Astronomy.) to move toward the horizon or toward the south.
v.t. to go or come down; move downward upon or along.
Ex. to descend the stairs to the basement. The winding trail descends the mountain.


3. This Day in History: October 4th, 2006
Another feature of our Language Arts Class will be learning about famous people, places and things each Wednesday. Please READ and take notes on the material below, as IT WILL ALL BE ON A TEST IN OCTOBER!!!
The three subjects of “this day in history” for October 4th are:
a. Jean Francois Millet
b. Frederic Remington
c. Sputnik

Millet, Jean Francois, pronounced mee LEH, zhan frahn SWAH (1814-1875), a French artist, was the most significant painter of peasant life of the 1800's. In 1849, he settled in the village of Barbizon near the forest of Fontainebleau. He spent almost all the rest of his life there painting scenes from rural life. His most popular works include The Sower (1850), The Gleaners (1857), and The Angelus (1859). Such works dignify their subjects, portraying rural life at a time when universal suffrage in France made the peasant an important political force.
Millet was born in Gruchy, near Cherbourg. He was descended from well-to-do farmers in Normandy, and his knowledge of peasant life came from the perspective of a prosperous farmer. Millet's paintings became especially popular with American and French industrialists of the late 1800's. These industrialists appreciated the idea of hard work and social order, which Millet's paintings seemed to endorse. Millet influenced a number of artists, including the famous painters Vincent van Gogh and Georges Seurat.

Remington, Frederic (1861-1909), was an American artist best known for his action-filled paintings, drawings, and sculptures of cowboys and Indians. His works became famous for capturing the vitality and spirit of the West.
Remington was born in Canton, New York. He loved horses and outdoor life as a child and often sketched Western characters and dramatic battle scenes. He studied art at Yale University from 1878 to 1880. His first published drawing appeared in the campus paper.
In 1881, Remington traveled to Montana on the first of many Western trips. He decided in 1885 to become an artist and to devote his art to portraying the rapidly vanishing soldiers, cowboys, Indians, and open lands of the West. He lived in the East, but traveled throughout the West to gather material for his pictures.
Remington's early works were precisely drawn and full of detail. His illustrations for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem The Song of Hiawatha (1891) show his technique of this period. Remington later painted with less detail, but he expressed more moods and emotions. He used broader brushstrokes and became more concerned with color and the effects of light. Downing the Nigh Leader (1907) illustrates his late dramatic style. He also gained praise for his quietly romantic night scenes. In his sculptures, Remington made dynamically balanced figures, as in Bronco Buster (1905).
Remington illustrated many of his own books, including Pony Tracks (1895) and The Way of an Indian (1906). Many of his works are in the Remington Art Memorial in Ogdensburg, N.Y., and the Whitney Gallery of Western Art in Cody, Wyo.
Contributor: Sarah E. Boehme, M.A.,Curator, Whitney Gallery of Western Art, Buffalo Bill Historical Center.

Sputnik is the name of a series of unmanned satellites launched by the Soviet Union. Sputnik 1, launched Oct. 4, 1957, was the first artificial earth satellite. It circled the earth once every 96 minutes at a speed of 18,000 mph (29,000 kph), until it fell to the earth on Jan. 4, 1958. The Soviet Union also launched nine much larger sputniks, from November 1957 to March 1961. The earliest of these carried the first space traveler, the dog Laika.
Contributor: Cathleen S. Lewis, M.A., Assistant Curator, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Monday, October 2nd lesson plan, LA8

Today we will set up our blog pages. In order to do so, you must first be able to show me the following:

1. Your spiral LA8 notebook.

2. Your synopsis (summary) of your first book for this year for LA8. It must be around 150 words.

3. Book #2. I at least must have the title.

4. The class notes and definitions for things we have been asked to look up so far:
synopsis:
Battle of Salamis:
etc.

If you can show me all of these items, you may go to www.blogger.com and set up your blog. To do so, you must follow the instructions below (cut and pasted from an early blog posting, and slightly modified):

First: You need a "user name". This will be your first name, last initial in lower case letters, and IST all together as one word. For example,

" mrpIST "

Another example, for a student named "Thomas Smith":
" thomassIST "

We will not use your last name so no one outside of IST will have this information, and it will not show up "live" on your blog.

Second: password. For the time being we will skip this, as it can be done at the last minute. However, as is written on your parent permission form, I as the teacher must always have your password. This means I get access to your blog, and can help you keep control of what you post. (NOTE: whatever your password is, I need to have it, and I will share it with your parents...so KEEP IT CLEAN!).

Third: Blog title. This will be your FIRST NAME ONLY followed by IST Opicina. For example:

" Mr IST Opicina "

Another example, for the student named "Thomas Smith":
" Thomas IST Opicina "

I do not want your last name to appear on the blog- that is forbidden, (as I wrote in the parent permission form) and as your parents agreed when they signed to permit you to do this. This is a safety feature to protect what we will do online, and to protect you.

Fourth: Blog address. This is the TOUGH one to do. It can take multiple tries to get a title that works. I am making this easy for you in this blog. The format we will use is the following one: IST + gr8 + first name + first initial of your last name

For example: " ISTgr8mrp "

This would be my blog address if I were doing this exercise.
Another example, for the student "Thomas Smith":

" ISTgr8thomass "

Thai crown princess launches royal blog

The address below will take you to an article about the crown princess of Thailand and the "blog" she is supposedly going to be writing:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061001/ap_on_hi_te/thailand_royal_blog

Read the article and then tell me what you think. It will be interesting to see if the princess manages to keep her blog updated...

Lesson Plan for Wednesday, Sept. 27th, 2006

Good afternoon, grade 8! You should be seated in PAIRS at the computers, so that you can work together on the exercises. I ask that Ms. Searle keep a list of who works together each Wednesday in the lab, so that you switch partners every week. The goal is that by the end of the semester everyone will have worked with everyone else at least once in class as partners. Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Your GRAMMAR lesson today is to go to the link on our Blog webpage -English Online Grammar- and do the following:

1. Go to the section titled "English Grammar Exercises"

2. Go to the "Advanced Level" section

3. Click on the button titled "more tests"

4. Do Tests 1 through 5 :
1. Newspaper Headlines
2. Learning tips and instructions
3. Phrasal Verbs
4. Time Expressions (1)
5. Time Expressions (2)

5. While doing the tests write down the answers of the ones you got wrong, and review them completely on the website.

When you are finished, please go to the next link, "Write a Book Review", which is by the author of the book "Freak the Mighty" and tells you how he recommends you write a book review.

Thank you for your cooperation!!!!

Note Home to Grade 8 parents for Permission to BLOG

To: Grade 8 IST parents
From: Mr. Pastore, Director/Grade 8 Language Arts teacher
Re: Language Arts Class, Grade 8
Date: Monday, September 25th, 2006
Dear parents of grade 8,
It is a pleasure to be teaching Language Arts 8 this year to your children. As a part of this course, the students in grade 8 will read
17 books this year. After each book, they will write a journal entry that I would like them to publish on the internet. We will use a special website that has been recommended to me by several educational specialists from the United States. This site is www.blogger.com.
In order to do permit your child to design and use a “blog” (web + log = “blog”) of this type on the internet, I ask that you sign the permission form below. Your child does not have to have internet access at home in order to do this, as I have scheduled our class to meet three times per week in the computer lab. However, I will encourage all students to show their work to their parents at home on their computer or here at IST several times during the school year.
The goal of having your child write their journal entries about their reading books on the internet is to teach them technology and modern communication skills while also practicing Language Arts skills such as proofreading, spellchecking, and proper English grammar use and paragraph/essay writing forms.
Thank you for signing and sending in the form below, and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask me personally.
Sincerely,
Jim Pastore, IST Director/Grade 8 Language Arts Teacher

----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- -----
----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ----- ---

I give permission to my child
__________________________________________(print name) to use the internet to publish his/her work from Language Arts 8. I understand and accept that Mr. Pastore, the teacher of the class, will have complete control over what my child publishes, and that my child and Mr. Pastore are responsible to do this work at IST, not at home on the internet. I also understand that I my child is responsible to do this “blog” exercise throughout this school year as a part of his/ her grade in Language Arts 8. Finally, if I have any questions at any time, I will not hesitate to contact Mr. Pastore to discuss with him the course content and the course outcomes on the internet.
Parent Name: ___________________________________________________ (print) Parent Signature: ________________________________________________
Date: _______________________________

Lesson Plan, Friday Sept. 22nd

I wonder how many students in grade 8 at IST have found the spelling mistake in my first Blog entry? I have had them read the entire first entry, and the first "page" in three separate classes this week, and they have not said a word yet about the mistake.

This makes it very difficult to give them permission to have their own blog...since I need to trust them to proof, spellcheck, and proof again (and yet again for a third time) each time they post on their blog.

I also am going to have the Librarian come and speak to the students today about checking books out that they borrow from the library. I need the grade 8 students to set the example in Middle School for this. It seems that some books have been borrowed without being checked out, but I am sure grade 8 will figure out what to do.

I also discovered that I needed to click a few security buttons to ensure that whomever left a message on my teaching blog also left it with my permission. I appreciate the several students who left messages, and ironically it was good that they did so. This woke me up to the fact that I needed to ensure security.
And because of this, I am sending the permission slip home next week to their parents. I need to research teacher led bloging efforts a bit more to "cover all the bases".
Speaking of Idiomatic expressions (such as "cover all the bases" from American English), the website that I have as my first link leads to a great ESL site that has advanced ESL work on it. I have had the students do several sections on "Idioms" so far, and given that the site is based in the UK, they are learning some neat idiomatic expressions in British English.

Finally, they - grade 8 - should all be finishing their first independent reading book, now that we are at the end of week two of school. Given that they will read 25 books -8 (minus 4 for Lit class, and minus 4 for Italian) = 17 books, and given that there are a total (including vacation weeks) of 40ish weeks each year.

What do you think? Are they finished their first book? Perhaps I should require a written report for the first book in order to give them individual permission to "blog" for our class???

Step 1: Creating a Blog for LA 8 Class
Today we are going to begin the process of creating our classroom blog. I will show you how easy it can be, and you will replicate what I do on paper. You will also take home to get signed a parental permission form to create and use a blog in grade 8 language arts. You are to return the form to me this week (by Friday), so we can start making your blogs, and use them to write about your first reading book for Language arts.

In class today we will write down all the terms that you will need in order to create your blog.


First term: You will need a "user name". This will be your first name, last initial in lower case letters, and IST all together as one word. For example,

" mrpIST "

We will not use your last name so no one outside of IST will have this information, and it will not show up "live" on your blog.

Second term: password. For the time being we will skip this, as it can be done at the last minute. However, as is written on your parent permission form, I as the teacher must always have your password. This means I get access to your blog, and can help you keep control of what you post.

Third term: Blog title. This will be your FIRST NAME ONLY followed by IST Opicina. For example:

" MR IST Opicina "

I do not want your last name to appear on the blog- that is forbidden, (as I wrote in the parent permission form) and as your parents agreed when they signed to permit you to do this. This is a safety feature to protect what we will do online, and to protect you.

Fourth term: Blog address. This is the TOUGH one to do. It can take multiple tries to get a title that works. I am making this easy for you in this blog. The format we will use is the following one: IST + gr8 + first name + first intial of your last name

For example: " ISTgr8mrp "

This would be my blog address if I were doing this exercise.

You need to follow al the instructions and have them written in your notebook. I will check your work when you are done.